


The Cost of the Second Lie

by schneefink



Category: Winternight Series - Katherine Arden
Genre: Gen, Loyalty, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-11-02 02:34:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20592194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/schneefink/pseuds/schneefink
Summary: Sasha knew that Dmitrii had good reasons to throw him in prison.





	The Cost of the Second Lie

**Author's Note:**

> For the h/c-bingo square "falsely accused."

The guards took his sword, dragged him through the halls and down the stairs, and pushed him into a cell with so much strength that Sasha stumbled and almost fell.

"Witch-priest," one of them muttered and made the sign of the cross.

Rage filled Sasha, and without thought he stepped forward. Two of the guards backed away, but another had enough presence of mind to slam the door closed and turn the key.

Sasha wanted to slam his fists against the door. But he couldn't risk the guards telling Dmitrii that he was raving, and so he paced instead.

Last time, Dmitrii had at least ordered him to be confined under guard in the monastery. But Sasha had broken out of the monastery, and Dmitrii learned from his mistakes. And now he apparently thought that trusting Sasha was one of them. Sasha had known that the trust between them had been weakened, but he hadn't thought it'd been eroded to this extent.

Could Sasha blame him? He'd sworn never to lie to Dmitrii again, and not a day later he'd done it again, blaming the fire on the Tatars. Yes, he'd admitted the truth when Dmitrii had asked him directly, but that was a weak excuse. He'd still deceived him, right after Dmitrii had given him another chance. It had been for the sake of his sister, again – could he blame Dmitrii for thinking that Sasha would always put his family over his Grand Prince?

He wouldn't. Sasha knew that now. He'd never thought that he'd have to choose between his loyalty to his family and his loyalty to Dmitrii, his cousin who'd become his friend, his Grand Prince and like a brother to him, until Vasya had arrived, and he'd struggled not to hate her for putting him in that position. He'd gone along with her story only because he'd thought, or hoped, there was a way that nobody would get hurt, and the second time when he'd lied to save her he'd thought the small twist of facts would do no harm. Deep down, he'd known even then that if it was a clear choice, he'd choose the duty and the cause he believed in even if it would hurt his family, and he'd struggled not to hate himself for that. He'd struggled again when Olga had asked him to stay and protect her and her children, but Sasha had gone to get Father Sergei because Dmitrii had asked it of him, as proof of his loyalty.

Clearly, it hadn't been enough. In quiet moments Sasha was afraid that it would never be enough, that Dmitrii would never forgive him for his lies, that there would always be a wall between them and that he'd lost his brother's friendship and trust forever. It would be nobody's fault but his own. The look on Dmitrii's face when he'd first found out that Sasha had lied to him accused him in his nightmares again and again.

The voice inside that cried out that Dmitrii should know him better than that, that Sasha had earned his trust, had earned another chance or at the very least a chance to explain himself, sounded like that of a small child, lonely and scared.

_It's not him, _he tried to tell himself._ It's the Bear. Konstantin Nikonovich was standing right next to Dmitrii: he's ensnared him with his magic voice. Vasya said this could happen. It's his fault that Dmitrii didn't listen. _

But the priest would never have had a chance to do that if Sasha hadn't given him the opportunity by making Dmitrii doubt who he could trust, twice. Now Konstantin had Dmitrii's ear, and Sasha was afraid of what he might say. Sasha had no doubt that Konstantin would like to see him dead, but surely Dmitrii wouldn't go that far, at least not without talking to Sasha again. Then Sasha would at least have another chance to explain, and to convince Dmitrii to contact Father Sergei. Surely Father Sergei would be able to dispel Konstantin Nikonovich's evil influence.

No, Sasha was more afraid that the priest would convince Dmitrii to leave him in his cell, possibly until the unrest was over. From what Vasya and her demon had said, by then it would be too late to save the city. It might be too late now: if Vasya and her demon didn't succeed, the Bear would destroy Moscow, and kill Dmitrii too. Sasha had faith in God, and faith in Father Sergei, but even Father Sergei had appeared to believe Vasya's assessment. Father Sergei was a holy man, but he was old, and the Bear had had time to prepare for his arrival.

The Bear might think he was prepared for Vasya too, but nobody was prepared for Vasya. Sasha signed and finally sat down against the wall. He wished he could have faith in Vasya being able to bind the evil demon, but all he had was faith that Vasya would try as hard as she could.

Not long ago, Sasha had faith in Dmitrii's regard for him, but he'd ruined that himself. Now all he had was his faith in Dmitrii being a good and capable man, but even the best men could be tricked by demons.

There had been something in Dmitrii's eyes when Sasha had asked to speak with him. It might have been a trick of the light, or it might have been a warning. It might have been a warning not to say too much where Konstantin Nikonovich could hear, or it might have been a warning not to test the Grand Prince's patience any further. Sasha desperately wanted to believe it was the former, but he was afraid that he was only fooling himself.

He should pray, but his mind was too agitated. Maybe the priest was convincing Dmitrii right at this moment not to listen to Sasha. Maybe he was telling him that talking to the brother of the witch was too dangerous. Maybe he'd already managed to convince him that where there were two lies there were surely many more, that Sasha had never had Dmitrii's best interest at heart, had never been loyal to him at all.

The sound of the key in the lock pulled him out of the dark thought spiral, and Sasha stood up quickly. The door opened it. Dmitrii walked in and closed the door behind him.

"Dmitrii Ivanovich," Sasha said. He'd meant to speak respectfully, but to his own ears he sounded uncertain. He wanted to say something, to explain, but Dmitrii's searching look froze him in place. Once he could read Dmitrii's face like a book, but that had been when Dmitrii had never truly tried to hide from him.

Finally, Dmitrii walked closer until he stood right in front of Sasha. "Cousin," Dmitrii said. "What is going on?"

The strength of his relief that Dmitrii at least still acknowledged their kinship was unexpected. "Cousin," Sasha said. He had to explain what was happening, warn him about the priest. "No matter what the priest claims, I've never betrayed you. I never would," came out of his mouth first instead, and it was firm, but it was also a plea.

Dmitrii opened his mouth, and both of them knew that he was about to say "I know." Then he shut it again. He didn't know that, not for sure, not anymore. Sasha had done that, and it felt like a stab wound.

"Forgive me, cousin."

Dmitrii sighed. "She's your sister," he said.

"And you're my brother," Sasha said fiercely. "I serve God, and I serve you. Nothing comes before that."

"You should have remembered that before," Dmitrii muttered, but it didn't sound angry. He waved it off when Sasha was about to apologize again. "It's in the past. I wouldn't even have thrown you in prison, but I wanted to try to draw Konstantin out. He's up to something. He tried very hard to convince me that you're the villain, to get you out of the way, so you must be a hindrance to his plans somehow."

So Dmitrii's trust in him was still strong enough to hold against a demon trying to destroy it with his priest's magic voice. It was humbling, a greater gift than Sasha deserved, and he vowed to be worthy of it.

"Right now, there's a threat in the city, and I cannot even see its exact shape. Will you help me fight it, brother?"

"Yes," Sasha said fiercely. "Always."

Dmitrii grinned, and for a moment it was again like all those other times when they'd made plans to defeat their enemies, the two of them knowing that they would always have each other's back. "Tell me all you know, and how we can fight it."

Sasha nodded and began the strange tale, his heart lighter. Dmitrii still trusted him at his side and was willing to give him another chance. They'd defeat the false priest and his demon, and Sasha could start earning back the trust he'd broken. And if it took the rest of his life, he'd never stop trying.


End file.
